Keeping America Safe

Protecting Our Military with Made In Wisconsin Equipment

As our military defends America, Tammy has helped make sure they are protected with high-quality equipment that is American-made, including right here in Wisconsin. In 2017, Tammy successfully pushed Senate and House Leaders to join her in saving crucial Buy American rules that require the federal government to use our taxpayer dollars on American-made products for our troops.

On the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tammy is championing the Littoral Combat Ship, which is made in Marinette with parts from over 200 suppliers across the state, and creates thousands of good-paying jobs for Wisconsin working families. Following the phase-out of Humvees, Tammy helped Oshkosh Defense land the contract to build the next generation Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), which has already helped create hundreds of new jobs in Wisconsin.

Supporting Our Troops Overseas

Tammy was a leading voice against starting the Iraq War, which led to thousands of American servicemembers losing their lives and will end up costing American taxpayers more than $2 trillion, on top of causing the drastic regional destabilization that fueled the growth of ISIS. As our military confronts these challenges, Tammy has worked to make sure our troops have the support they need to stay safe in Afghanistan and Iraq, and pushed for a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS.

With our troops and our military families making incredible sacrifices, Tammy has joined bipartisan efforts to make sure Congress gives our servicemembers the fair pay and benefits they deserve. In addition to much-needed pay raises for our troops, Tammy has made sure our government invests in innovative security and safety equipment for our military, protects servicemembers and their families from financial scams, and constructs new facilities at Wisconsin’s Fort McCoy Army base. When veterans returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe illnesses caused by exposure to toxic burn pits, Tammy cosponsored the bipartisan Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act, which was signed into law by President Trump.

Fighting for Our First Responders

Wisconsin’s first responders are on the front lines of combating the opioid epidemic, but Washington continues to put politics ahead of providing our first responders with the resources they need to address this crisis and save lives. Tammy is working across party lines to get Wisconsin first responders the resources to stop the opioid epidemic and save people’s lives. Tammy has also taken on the pharmaceutical executives who are responsible for jacking up the price of naloxone, which Wisconsin first responders use to reverse opioid and heroin overdoses.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tammy has worked to ensure the Department of Homeland Security can make the investments needed to support law enforcement across the country. Tammy has pushed for stronger federal support for Wisconsin’s state and local law enforcements’ responses to coordinated terrorist attacks, and she’s worked to secure first responders increased training and the necessary equipment to respond to bomb threats and dangerous oil train crashes.

Standing Up for Civil Liberties

While our intelligence agencies fight terrorism, Tammy is also making sure Americans’ constitutional rights remain intact. Tammy spoke out and voted against the PATRIOT Act in order to protect America’s freedoms and civil liberties. Since then, we’ve seen that government surveillance programs can easily cross the line and there is a need for protections to stop the infringement of law-abiding Americans’ privacy with backdoor searches and data collection.

Tammy was the only Democrat in the Senate to vote against a bill that would have allowed some of the abuses of the PATRIOT Act to be continued. She then joined a bipartisan coalition of Senators in introducing the USA RIGHTS Act to fix the PATRIOT Act and stop the warrantless searches of Americans’ texts, calls and emails. This commonsense legislation would both strengthen overseas counterterrorism efforts and protect the constitutional rights of Americans.